National Coordinator of Governance Initiative, KeneChukwu Okeke, has decried the spread of fake news as “evil, reckless and dangerous”, saying that the “weighty responsibility to stem misinformation rests on the shoulders of the press”.

Okeke was reacting to the fallout of the February 23, 2019 presidential polls in which the Independent national electoral Commission (INEC) declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.

He said during a chat in his residence at Nkpor, Anambra State: “Citizens must refrain from making inflammatory statements during or after the Elections and Inaugurations to avoid heating up the polity. It is evil to pitch one tribe against the other. We are simply Nigerians, we have no other identity. As far as national interests are concerned, there should be no tribal identity. General election is a national project, and all hands must be on deck to ensure a peaceful free-fair elections and subsequent inaugurations not for personal interests but for the love of country. We are 100% Nigerians

“The members of the press or the news media must promote a journalism of peace and one that is opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines. Journalists must ensure fair and accurate reporting that cuts through the clutter. The press owe Nigerians a weighty responsibility of an unbiased and fair reportage at all times.”

Okeke called on “all security agencies in the country to be vigilant and diligent at all times and to forestall any impending or imminent breakdown of law and order”, adding: “The peddlers of fake news are hereby warned to desist or face the grave consequences of the law.”